Czechs dominate EFA documentary nominations
Prix Arte winner Rene was one of two Czech films among the ten documentary films nominated for the European Film Academy (EFA) "European Film Academy Documentary 2008 - Prix Arte".
Goat Story premieres October 16
Goat Story: The Old Prague Legends, the first Czech CGI feature animated comedy, premiered October 16 in Prague.
DVD sales soar in Czech Republic and Slovakia
The DVD Group (dvdgroupcz.com) reported increased sales of DVD in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2008.
New Hrebejk film premieres October 8
The Giglet (Nestyda), a dark comedy about mid-life crisis by leading Czech director Jan Hrebejk premieres on October 8 in Prague, with nation-wide distribution beginning October 9.
Negativ debut wraps shooting October 6
Last Dichers, a €600,000 film from debuting director Jitka Rudolfova, will wrap its shoot on rural Czech locations October 6.
The Karamazovs to represent Czech Republic in Oscar competition
Petr Zelenka's The Karamazovs will be the Czech bid for the Oscar foreign language film category, the Czech Film and Television academy (www.cfta.cz) announced.
Institute of Documentary Film presents new projects in Jihlava
Political topics are grabbing the attention of Czech and filmmakers, as 27 projects prepare to compete for international funding at the Jihlava International Documentary Festival's East European Forum (October 24-29).
Country Teacher to be released in USA
Country Teacher by ascendant Czech director Bohdan Slama has been sold to American distributor Film Movement, which bought the licence and theatrical distribution rights for in the US,
Estonian commercial TV channels exempted from licence fees
The Estonian parliament has passed a bill exempting all TV broadcasters who relay digital programming from paying licence fees beginning January, 2009.
Czech Republic distributor Premysl Martinek, Artcam
Premysl Martinek joined Artcam as managing director in February in order to merge his love for art house films with his distribution experience learned while working with regional giant Bontonfilm.
Bathory reaches one million admissions
Big-budget historical movie Bathory by Juraj Jakubisko reached one million admissions as of September 15, distributor Bontonfilm (www.bontonfilm.cz) announced.
Nova and Prima to go digital
TV Nova (www.nova.cz) and Prima TV (www.iprima.cz) , the two leading commercial broadcasters in the Czech Republic, have finally signed up to the country's digitalisation plan.
Fresh life for Nemec film
Jan Nemec's Holka Ferrari Dino will open the Fresh Film Festival in Karlovy Vary on August 27, following an internet premiere.
Brabec film opens August 21
F.A. Brabec's poetic film May has its world premiere in Prague on August 21.
Labyrinth finishes filming
Filming on Tomas Houska's psychothriller Labyrinth concluded this week, with post-production expected to be finished by the end of August.
Czechs grant €2.4 million for film production in 2008/2009
The State Fund for the Support and Development of Czech Cinematography announced CZK57.4 million (2.38 million Euros) in grants for 2008 and 2009.
New home for Czech National Film Archive
The Czech government decided on July 23 to construct a new building to house the Czech National Film Archive (NFA). Construction could begin as late as 2013.
Protector announces film start and cast
Director Marek Najbrt‘s CZK62 million (€2.6 million) Protector, one of the most anticipated Czech films of 2009, will start filming in early September.
Bathory draws 200,000 viewers in 2 weeks
The big-budget €11 million Czech-Slovak-Hungarian-British co-production Bathory by director Juraj Jakubisko hit a Czech domestic record in attendance since its opening on July 10.
Jakubisko retrospective at Czech Summer Film School
Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko and producer/wife Deanna Jakubisko will present their box office hit Bathory at the 34th Summer Film School (LFS, www.lfs.cz) in Uherske Hradiste, July 25-August 3.
